1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices for reducing the concentration of pollutants in exhaust emissions of internal combustion engines, and more specifically to such devices operating on the basis of enriching the oxygen content of air taken in by the engine, and the method associated with their use.
2. Background Art
The use of denitrified air to reduce the content of toxic compounds from exhaust gases of automotive engines is known in the prior art. Nakajima et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,232, for example, discloses the delivery of denitrified air, containing oxygen in a major proportion, to a carburetor of an internal combustion engine.
The disclosed apparatus, however, is applicable to an internal combustion engine only after major modifications in the engine structure. Moreover, the patented structure requires the use of two pumps, forming an integral part of the air intake system for the engine, along with an air denitrifying unit. The latter operates by using a nitrogen impermeable membrane, for example, or a specified molecular sieve formed of pulverized zeolite.
Such a structure is complex, expensive, requires major engine modification, and is thus not easily adaptable for use with older cars, subsequent to production and sale.
McKerahan, U.S. Pat. No. 1,339,211 discloses the use of a rotary concentrator for delivering oxygenated air at its output, in order to obtain a fuel saving by more complete combustion in smelting furnaces, blacksmith fires, steam boilers, gas engines and the like.
The disclosure, however, merely contemplates the use of centrifugal action to separate and concentrate oxygen. There is no disclosure of any readily available device to be used for such a concentrator. No suggestions are provided for reduction of output pollution with the aid of a static concentrator, nor is any indication provided for combining the device with carburetor intakes for automotive internal combustion engines in order easily and inexpensively to update an automotive engine to comply with pollutant emission standards.
In summary, the prior art requires complex devices having a number of moving parts for air oxygenation of internal combustion engines. The prior art thus fails to provide simple, inexpensive devices for pollution reduction in new and existing automobiles, and particularly fails to provide use of static gas separator structures for such applications.